Extreme religious OCD?

  • Thread starter Thread starter tiagolc
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
T

tiagolc

Guest
Hi, I am a teenager who get’s obsessed with things easily and I have always thought I was scrupulous but this is way too far. I sometimes forced myself to do things I didn’t really know why/didn’t feel right doing because I thought God would punish me. I need help, really need help.
The thing is that I have recently started being aware that God calls certain people to follow Him as priest or religious people. Then, I just have this doubt, I am constantly wondering if He is calling me or not, and I don’t really feel confortable with the idea of being a priest, it just doesn’t go with me, but I feel that if I don’t become a priest, God would be mad at me (a very very very crazy thought) and that triggers something similar as a panic attack because I just wouldn’t feel confortable and wouldn’t like to be a priest.
What should I do? I need someone to tell me that God won’t be mad at me because this is killing me 😦
 
I will say a prayer for you. I am sure things will be alright. Please see your local priest. I am sure he will help. God bless! God loves us and is gentle.
 
Ask your parents for help. You need to talk to a mental health professional about these OCD behaviors and thoughts, and your scrupulosity. You can also talk to you pastor about getting help for the scrupulosity.
 
God is not mad at you. He loves you. He wants you to be well and happy.

Scrupulosity and OCD are often related, but one doesn’t necessarily mean the other. Also, if you’re still a kid – well, it’s stressful to be a teenager. So don’t assume this is something you’ll always have.

Get help, and a lot of this will be taken off your shoulders. Usually what happens with scruples is that you get a priest or someone else with religious authority to set boundaries for you, so that you can relax.

God is not mad at you. He loves you. He wants you to be well and happy.
 
The thing is that it’s very likely that I have OCD because my granfather (mother’s side) is always obsesive about opening and closing doors and that stuff, my father is so obsesive about germs, washing hands, illnesses and stuff.
And I researched and found out that if I were called, the idea should bring joy and peace while it does the opposite on me (panic attacks). And feeling forced to be a priest isn’t normal, not even if I were called.
 
tiagolc said:
The thing is that it’s very likely that I have OCD because my granfather (mother’s side) is always obsesive about opening and closing doors and that stuff, my father is so obsesive about germs, washing hands, illnesses and stuff.
And I researched and found out that if I were called, the idea should bring joy and peace while it does the opposite on me (panic attacks). And feeling forced to be a priest isn’t normal, not even if I were called.
Click to expand...
Please see a mental health professional . OCD can be treated or it’s effects greatly lessened.
You deserve to have a better life not burdened by it. And find a priest who can help with the religious scrupulosity.

God bless you.
 
CB_Catholic said:
Please see a mental health professional . OCD can be treated or it’s effects greatly lessened.
You deserve to have a better life not burdened by it. And find a priest who can help with the religious scrupulosity.

God bless you.
Click to expand...
Religious scrupulosity is something I think I am getting over, not completely yet. I managed to not go to confession for a month 🙂 and I used to be really broken (a dirty thought could get in my mind and a few minutes later I would be really troubled questioning if life is even real), if you checked my other posts you would know.
This OCD thing is crazy, you may feel really depressed and troubled about something and minutes or hours later you could talk yourself to sanity, questioning if you even have it. A few hours later, it comes back.
 
There seem to be a lot of people here at CAF with scrupulosity and OCD issues. I think I am a little OCD and I had never heard of scrupulosity until I joined CAF.
 
7_Sorrows said:
There seem to be a lot of people here at CAF with scrupulosity and OCD issues. I think I am a little OCD and I had never heard of scrupulosity until I joined CAF.
Click to expand...
Well, I didn’t trust any priest because I though they may be too liberal or too extremist, plus hard to get to talk to. That’s why I’m here.
And FWY, I dominated the beast, at least for tonight. I sensed it coming back so I went to the bathroom, prayed and talked to myself in the mirror. The beast is asleep, at least for now. I feel no urge to become a priest.
 
tiagolc said:
Religious scrupulosity is something I think I am getting over, not completely yet. I managed to not go to confession for a month 🙂 and I used to be really broken (a dirty thought could get in my mind and a few minutes later I would be really troubled questioning if life is even real), if you checked my other posts you would know.
This OCD thing is crazy, you may feel really depressed and troubled about something and minutes or hours later you could talk yourself to sanity, questioning if you even have it. A few hours later, it comes back.
Click to expand...
If you even THINK you MIGHT have it, best to get it checked out. If you have health insurance, it will probably cover at least some visits. It’s best to know, one way or another, and it’s also my understanding it has a genetic component.

Some people benefit from counseling and/or medication.

Now, I believe a lot of people think they may have OCD…don´t bother. I think this may be due to the stigma of it being a “mental” illness. Well, I´ve had depression and codependency. I´ve gone to a psychologist and/or psychiatrist, as needed.

I don´t think of it as being “crazy”.

My ex-husband had some SERIOUS OCD. His father had it, self medicated, using alcohol. My ex-husband divorced, twice, and I am quite sure his OCD had a lot to do with BOTH divorces. He tried to go to just a regular MD for his panic attacks, managed to get an antidepressant.

However, the depression was probably caused by the OC. The medication given did little to nothing to stop the compulsions. So basically, he was a happy OCD! Better to get diagnosed properly, see the specialist this corresponds to, not cut any corners.

Now, if someone would break a leg, people would RUN to the doctor! It would be obvious, a “no brainer”, but somehow, it´s different with mental health.

Years ago, people had little they could do, had to suffer things out, sometimes in institutions, with little hope. However, medication has revolutionized the who mental health system.

Some don´t go, thinking, (sometimes even mistakenly) that all the medications are addictive, too strong. However, many, even if medication is necessary, start one out at a low dose, move up as needed. Then, many medications which were addictive have been replaced by some non-addictive ones, even. Medication improves day by day.

I have a friend who had PTSD, had a bad experience with a medication. I think the dosage was too high. He tried it, …once…calls that an “attempt”.

One also has to go back, be persistent, till one finds the right medication…and dosage, not give up. Yes, it’s a science, but it’s part art…very individual. What works for one person won´t work for another.

So, it´s important to go, and if there are any problems…go back till it’s fixed…persist. I had times I had a medication working well…seemed to peeter out…not work. I’d go back, and it was as if I had developed a tolerance.

Also, counseling is much better. We know about obsessions, more each day how to treat them. Some make the mistake of trying to resist them, but normally, ignoring them can often be more effective. It’s important to do as other posters suggested, make an appointment with a psychologist for diagnosis, and take it from there.

Good luck, and God bless you! 👍
 
tiagolc said:
Religious scrupulosity is something I think I am getting over, not completely yet. I managed to not go to confession for a month 🙂 and I used to be really broken (a dirty thought could get in my mind and a few minutes later I would be really troubled questioning if life is even real), if you checked my other posts you would know.
This OCD thing is crazy, you may feel really depressed and troubled about something and minutes or hours later you could talk yourself to sanity, questioning if you even have it. A few hours later, it comes back.
Click to expand...
Well, thoughts cross most people’s minds. Believe it might have been Mitch Pacwa who was saying with impure thoughts flying through, not to be so concerned so long as they don´t roost there! 😉
 
For all of you who want to get a better understanding of what is happening to me, read this:
psychforums.com/obsessive-compulsive/topic101227.html

I feel exactly like that guy but I’m 15. Now that I am in a state of sanity again I get to the conclusion that if I was called, panic attacks shouldn’t be in the package, but it’s hard to tell that to me when I have an attack, it get’s you crazy, like you feel you are not even you, not knowing what is everything anymore.
 
tiagolc said:
For all of you who want to get a better understanding of what is happening to me, read this:
psychforums.com/obsessive-compulsive/topic101227.html

I feel exactly like that guy but I’m 15. Now that I am in a state of sanity again I get to the conclusion that if I was called, panic attacks shouldn’t be in the package, but it’s hard to tell that to me when I have an attack, it get’s you crazy, like you feel you are not even you, not knowing what is everything anymore.
Click to expand...
**
DANG!** 😦

Get help!
 
ClearWater said:
**
DANG!** 😦

Get help!
Click to expand...
Oh yes I will, this thing is tricky though, when it wants to fade away it just feels like you don’t need any help. I told my mother “Call him”, a few minutes later I told her not to. That happened like three times. People call it the “doubt disorder” cause it makes you question if you even have it. He must have been having an attack while writing.
 
tiagolc said:
Hi, I am a teenager who get’s obsessed with things easily and I have always thought I was scrupulous but this is way too far. I sometimes forced myself to do things I didn’t really know why/didn’t feel right doing because I thought God would punish me. I need help, really need help.
The thing is that I have recently started being aware that God calls certain people to follow Him as priest or religious people. Then, I just have this doubt, I am constantly wondering if He is calling me or not, and I don’t really feel confortable with the idea of being a priest, it just doesn’t go with me, but I feel that if I don’t become a priest, God would be mad at me (a very very very crazy thought) and that triggers something similar as a panic attack because I just wouldn’t feel confortable and wouldn’t like to be a priest.
What should I do? I need someone to tell me that God won’t be mad at me because this is killing me 😦
Click to expand...
I can relate…My OCD goes like this. If I dont become a nun many people will suffer and I will be making the church suffer by my rejection of God’s invitation. well I believe this is somehow true…but then I realized that God will not be angry if we say no to him. God has been very patient with me…and when he asks for invitation he expects not a servile/fearful YES but a happy, sincere and open YES. So do not be afraid. God is a loving Father…If you have a good father/mother, teacher etc…You’ll see that when we dont follow them, they would correct us in a loving manner–but not to punish us. Because you see—GOD created us. He knows us more than we know ourselves. He knows how beautiful we are more than what we see in ourselves. So everytime I’m tempted to say no to HIM—I recall that Our Father knows how beautiful I am…and I trust that through his ways I will learn to see how beautiful I am just the way he sees me…

I recommend you watch on youtube------Wonderfully Made:D
 
Love God with all your soul, all your heart, all your mind and with all your strength.
 
tiagolc said:
I would but I’m afraid of Him because I think He will force me to do things I don’t want.
Click to expand...
God will have expectations of you regardless of your love for Him. You may as well choose love, with high expectations of the Hereafter.

O Jesus, Thou hast set me apart from the world; what, then, shall I seek therein? Thou hast created me for Heaven; what, then, have I to do with the world? Depart from me, deceitful world, with thy vanities! Henceforth i will follow the Way of the Cross traced out for me by my Redeemer, and journey onward to my heavenly home, there to dwell forever and ever.
-St Francis of Assisi
 
tiagolc said:
Oh yes I will, this thing is tricky though, when it wants to fade away it just feels like you don’t need any help. I told my mother “Call him”, a few minutes later I told her not to. That happened like three times. People call it the “doubt disorder” cause it makes you question if you even have it. He must have been having an attack while writing.
Click to expand...
I have something similar. I get depression, get on meds, feel better for a while, run out, think I don´t need them any more. I´ve had this long enough to know, whether I feel well at that moment in time, or not, to continue with both counseling AND meds. I know I NEED both.

If there’s even a DOUBT, it’s good just to rule it out. If it’s nothing to be concerned about, they can say that, and it will be an additional reassurance.
 
I think I found mine and God’s will. I was anxious all day but I went to watch TV and distracted myself and when I was taking a shower I began to think “What do I really want?”. I then imagined myself having a son, a son who I could take to school, teach him what I know, what I don’t know :o, teaching him how ride a bike, putting him asleep, eating dinner with my beautiful wife and children, having someone to wake up next to me and I realised I was crying of joy. I wanna have a family, and I have what it takes. I am meant to have a family.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top